Brain-Dead Mother Gives Birth to Twins

Birth is usually such a joyous time, but for the family of one Michigan woman, the recent birth of her twin sons was terribly bittersweet.

At the time of the birth, 26-year-old Christine Bolden was already brain dead from two aneurysms, discovered only after she had collapsed in a parking lot, but doctors kept her on a respirator for a month to allow the babies to continue to develop, reports the Associated Press. When her blood pressure got too high, doctors delivered brothers Nicholas and Alexander Bolden via C-section at just 25 weeks gestation, and their mother was removed from life support and died. At their birth on April 5, the boys weighed less than two pounds and were just six inches long, according to WOOD-TV. They remain on ventilators at a children’s hospital.

A doctor who specializes in high-risk pregnancies at University of Michigan Hospital, Dr. Cosmas Vandeven, acknowledged that cases like this were a tough call from an ethical standpoint. He told the AP, "Almost every parent would give their life for their child. But you need to get truly independent opinions: Are we sure we're not causing harm to the mom?”

Danielle Bolden, Christine’s aunt, told WOOD-TV, “God coulda took her and the boys, but He left the boys. That’s a miracle.”